Category Archives: Poetry

To Time it never seems that he is brave
To set himself against the peaks of snow
To lay them level with the running wave,
Nor is he overjoyed when they lie low,
But only grave, contemplative and grave.

What now is inland shall be ocean isle,
Then eddies playing round a sunken reef
Like the curl at the corner of a smile;
And I could share Time’s lack of joy or grief
At such a planetary change of style.

I could give all to Time except – except
What I myself have held. But why declare
The things forbidden that while the Customs slept
I have crossed to Safety with? For I am There,
And what I would not part with I have kept.

I wrote this poem three years ago for a World Literature class I was taking. It was meant to be after the fashion of Pablo Neruda (who liked to write odes to menial objects such as tomatoes, artichokes, “broken things,” clothing, etc) however I’m afraid my poem turned out a bit too metaphysical to be truly called Nerudian. At the time, my teacher responded with—write down what it means to you, this is one of those poems that will change over time. She was right. These years later—of the poems I’ve written it remains of my favorites and means something different now than it did then.

the wall
impenetrable, impassible
my constant companion
I’ve seen you a leviathan
and I’ve seen you blue
covered in clouds and rainbows
you are the artist’s easel
the fingerprint of restless minds
easing passions
in white you have flashed
inspiring the relentless
pencil of the engineer
sketching the future
on your surface
inside of you
building
dynasties from the cradle
when first we picked up mud
when first we created
on your inviting canvass
you were familiar
you stood as a child
his fists clenched
stubborn
defying the world
to knock him down
but you are also soft
when I clung to you
back to back
curled in a ball
you hid me
when I beat you with my fists
you let me beat
you still listen to my tears
matching my cries with your own
reminding me I am finite
you have heard every secret
but still you keep mine
you keep me in
you keep them out
you are my eyes first sight
and my body’s last blanket

I wish I could tell you
the thoughts on my heart
that the beauty in your soul
and the pain in your eyes
flickers now and then
in a way that catches my breath
that sometimes it’s all I can do
not to reach out
turn you around
you’re glorious, you know it?
strength upon days
I know it takes a lot
to reach tomorrow
don’t let your eyes grow dim
like the glass panes
neglected after the rain
or bathroom windows
clouded by the breath
of morning showers
there is a world of Love
that’s holding you up
even now, feel the fingers
not at your throat
but slipping through yours
gripping your hands
arms around your waist
when no one’s looking
but you, in the mirror
don’t you know there
really are two
all the time together
never will I leave you
never will I leave you